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Tuesdays with Dorie: Thumbprint cookies

I just noticed this is my fourth consecutive post about cookies: chocolate chip, honey-wheat, more chocolate chip (the championship), and now jam thumbprint cookies.

Is it too revealing to note that I also have ginger molasses cookie dough in my freezer, cherry scones on my kitchen counter, and chocolate-marshmallow whoopie pies in the fridge? The whoopie pies probably push it over the edge, but they were mandatory last night. Ever since my friend Michaela served whoopie pies at her Oscar party (almost ten years ago!), it’s been an annual tradition in my house. I also have some carrots and mixed greens in the vegetable bin….

Does anyone else live this way? I’m not the hoarding type by any stretch, but food does not go to waste in my house. Not ever. It’s become a bit of a joke around here. If I bake a batch of anything — cookies, scones, cinnamon buns — my family must stake a claim after 24 hours or the entire batch will disappear. Not into the trash (horrors!). It goes straight to the freezer, carefully wrapped and dated, so it stays active in the rotation.

If something can’t be frozen, I craft a meal around it. This can get extreme, but, you know, that’s why the culinary category of “hash” was invented. It can create a bit of anxiety — I’ve got to do something with those lemons/avocadoes/mushrooms/fill-in-the-blank — but it’s not in me to throw something out. So there it is.

Luckily for me, cookies freeze well. Not that I even freeze cookies. I freeze the dough, so I can get that fresh-baked, warm-from-the-oven goodness. In any event, Dorie calls these “thumbprints for us big guys,” because she adds hazelnuts and raspberry jam. I’ve always loved jam thumbprint cookies, though these tiny little morsels are more appropriately called jam pinky cookies. I substituted almonds and I only had strawberry and apricot jam in the house, so these weren’t all that grown up after all. But they were lovely. And though they aren’t ideal candidates for freezing, this recipe makes a lot, so they’re in suspended animation. Waiting for their second act.

Thanks to Mike of Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude for selecting this week’s thumbprint cookies for us big guys. You can find the recipe on his site or on page 164 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.

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10 Responses

Three cheers for the Oscar whoopie pies! I can’t believe that was almost 10 years ago… Wow. I was tempted to make them this year but didn’t have time, so I went with a cranberry upside down cake instead. ;)

They look great with the 2 kinds of jam! I’m not a huge fan of hazelnuts and I was just being a bit lazy with the almonds. I mean, I was using stuff out of my freezer:) I made a half batch, ate 3 and gave the rest away. It’s the only way I can prevent myself from eating them all!